Erica Verrillo has written seven books and published five. She doesn't know why anyone with an ounce of self-preservation would ever want to publish. But, if you insist on selling your soul to the devil, learn how to do it right: marketing, literary agents, book promotion, editing, pitching your book, how to get reviews, and ... most important of all ... everything she did wrong.
She's a member of PEN, and in the interest of protecting the 1st Amendment, she did not vote for Trump.

Emby Press is seeking submissions for a new anthology titled
Monster Waiting in the Woods. "Scare the hell out of us with any monster you like, although I will be especially interested in original monsters. Then keep the tension screwed tight and the terror dial on high. Set the stories anywhere - the “woods” in the title are only a possibility."

Genre: Horror, sci-fi, dark fiction

Length: 2000 to 8000 words. Please query if longer.

Payment: $25

Deadline: September 1

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Creepy Campfire Stories for Grownups. This anthology will
contain timeless tales of extreme horror campfire stories for adult readers
(over 18 years old). "ALL horror is welcome, including ALL sub-genres (science fiction, speculative, magical, fantasy, paranormal, supernatural, psychological, historical, Urban Legend, Original Creepy Pasta, mystical, Occult and extreme). All stories submitted must be original and previously unpublished. We will accept reprints, but if accepted, author must sign a contract stating that the reprinted story's copyright belongs to them."

Length: Word limit is 6,000 (hard), and minimum is 1,500

Genre: Horror

Payment: 4 cents per word, up to a flat rate of $240 per story, plus two contributor’s copies.

Deadline: September 1

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‘Witches, Warlocks, Demons, & Evil Doers’ Anthology. Sirens
Call Publications, a small press publisher of edgy fiction, is seeking
horror/supernatural stories for an upcoming anthology. "We are looking for stories that tell of wrong doings perpetrated by someone or something with supernatural abilities. We are not looking for stories of werewolves or vampires who need to survive by causing harm. What we want are stories of choice; stories where the protagonist chooses to do harm for a specific reason through means of a power beyond that of a normal mortal."

Genre: Speculative fiction

Length: 4K-8K words

Payment: $25/story

Deadline: September 1

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Timeless Talesexclusively publishes retellings of fairy tales and myths. "We only accept stories that are retellings of the fairytale or myth listed as our theme. We don't accept original fairy tales or stories outside of our current theme."

Length: Fiction must be at least 500 words long, but no longer than 10,000 words

Payment: $20/published piece

Deadline: September 10

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Eye to the Telescope , the flagship ezine of the Science Fiction Poetry Association, is looking for speculative poems that deal with the idea of race in a number of different ways. Poets can submit up to five poems. Poems must be original and unpublished.

Giants & Ogres Anthology. "CBAY Books is pleased to announce an open submission period for the upcoming YA anthology Giants & Ogres, a collection of stories featuring these classics villains from fairy tales. Like in our previous anthology, Stepmothers & the Big Bad Wolf, we are looking for stories that show these villains in new and unusual ways. Retold fairy tales are welcome, but we are also looking for tales that feature these characters in new and interesting lights. We will be selecting 5 giant stories and 5 ogre stories."

Genre: Fantasy and Science Fiction for ages 13-18 featuring a main character of either a giant or an ogre

Length: 5,000 words

Payment: $30/story

Deadline: September 18

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Capricious, a new magazine of literary speculative fiction and commentary, will debut its first issue this September.

Genre: Literary and experimental fiction, as well as non-fiction essays about speculative fiction. "We err towards the literary/experimental/slipstream side of speculative fiction, but appreciate a strong plot and kickass characters as much as anyone. Fiction which explores the relationship between an environment and its inhabitants is particularly welcome. We’re very open to stories told in second person, with unusual tenses, or other less common language choices, as long as they’re a good fit for the story. We’re particularly interested in stories from writers in the Asia-Pacific region, stories about disability that avoid the usual tropes, and thoughtful explorations of gender (and hell yes gender neutral pronouns are more than ok)." In the nonfiction category, the magazine will publish essays that explore themes and characteristics of speculative fiction.

Length: 3K-5K words per story.

Payment: $50 per story or essay.Deadline: Not indicated.

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Western Art & Architecture is a bi-monthly magazine that "celebrates America's love affair with the Western visual arts. From the classic Western masters to contemporary trendsetters, Western Art & Architecture magazine features the best in art and architecture from Texas to the West Coast." Now accepting queries for their Feb/March 2016 issue.

Genre: Nonfiction

Length: 500 to 1,500 words.

Payment: 50 cents/word for articles, and $50-$185/photo.

Deadline: September 24

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Your Workplaceis a Canadian magazine covering leadership and work-life issues. They are currently seeking articles for their Nov/Dec 2015 issue. Topics include background and context to ongoing national workplace issues, a challenge to mainstream perspectives, or an important story that

hasn’t been told elsewhere. Readers include executives, leaders and employees in dynamic organizations.

Genre: Nonfiction

Length: from 600 to 2,500 words for feature articles, including sidebars and/or visuals.

Payment: starts at 25 cents per word and increases depending on the type and topic of the article and the writer’s background.

Deadline: September 24

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Chicken Soup for the Soul is publishing an anthology about “Angels and Miracles.” “We’re looking for stories about angels, miracles, answered prayers, messages from heaven, and all your other awe-inspiring experiences, whether religious or non-religious. We are looking for stories of true wonder and inspiration – things that have happened to you and your friends and family – things that are hard to explain, but really happened! Share the awe, the faith, and the wonder with our readers. And just a note – we are not looking for stories about people who are “angels” because they do nice things or for eulogies about loved ones who are now angels.”

Genre: Nonfiction, prose and poetry

Length: up to 1200 words. Poetry: open line count.

Payment: $200 per story or poem, plus 10 contributor’s copies. Authors retain the copyright to their stories.

Deadline: September 30

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How to Help is looking for creative non-fiction essays telling well-crafted, heartfelt stories detailing how people have meaningfully aided you as a cancer patient, and what you have found most valuable in terms of support in your time of sickness. "We will also accept profound essays from caregivers or those in the cancer industry with a great story to tell along these lines. Consider these questions as prompts: How can people who love you help you as a cancer patient? What have people done in the past that touched you? What did you wish people would do? What did people say that made you feel better? What did you wish people wouldn’t say? What have you done as a caregiver that was meaningful and helpful and heartfelt?"

Genre: Nonfiction, personal essay

Length: under 3K words per story.

Payment: $150 per story upon publication plus a copy of the book

Deadline: September 30

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Fireside Fiction Company started in 2012 as a Kickstarter-funded short-story magazine. "We have two goals: to find and publish great stories regardless of genre, and to pay our writers and artists well. We’ve published dozens of writers since then, from well-known names to authors making their first sale."

Genres: Sci-fi, horror, romance, crime, fantasy, Westerns, near-future, and modern non-speculative fiction. "We are looking for more of those and from all the many genres we haven’t explored. Just tell us a good story." No simultaneous submissions.

Length: 1000-4000 words for short fiction; and up to 1K words for flash